Official Blog of Author MICHAEL THOMAS BARRY.
A blog which discusses varied topics that are related to the authors many books. Michael is a columnist for CrimeMagazine.com and a reviewer for the New York Journal of Books.
Questions or comments can be sent to ocauthor6434@gmail.com

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Mobster Frank "The Enforcer" Nitti Committed Suicide - 1943

On March 19, 1943, mobster Frank “The Enforcer” Nitti,
one of Al Capone’s henchmen and later front man for the Chicago Outfit, committed
suicide after being indicted for extorting money from Hollywood producers. Born
on January 27, 1886 in Italy, Nitti came to the United States in 1893, at the
age of 7. His family settled in Brooklyn, but Frank moved to Chicago by 1920.
Using his barbershop as a meeting place for small-time hoods, Nitti started
fencing stolen jewelry, attracting the attention of big-time mobster Johnny
Torrio and one of his strongmen, Al Capone. Nitti joined Al Capone's criminal
empire, called the Chicago Outfit. Rising quickly in the organization, he
displayed a talent for business, becoming known for efficiently smuggling
Canadian whiskey into Chicago speakeasies, which served as distribution points
throughout the city. By the mid-1920s, Nitti was a high ranking member of the
Capone mob.

Although his nickname was "The Enforcer," Frank
Nitti rarely took part in violent activities, delegating them instead to
underlings. In 1931, he and Capone were convicted of tax evasion and sent to
prison, but Nitti received an 18-month sentence, while Capone received 11
years. Severely claustrophobic, Nitti served his time in extreme discomfort, an
experience that would mark him until the day he died.

When Nitti was released in 1932, the media dubbed him the
new boss of Capone's gang, although it has since been revealed that Nitti was
the face, and perhaps brains of the Chicago Outfit, while another man, Paul Ricca,
was its true leader. Aiming to take down the Outfit's presumed head, in
December 1932, Chicago policemen raided Nitti's office, shooting him in the
back and neck. Nitti survived, and during the trial it was revealed that one of
the officers had been paid $15,000 to kill Nitti. Needing to reinvent the
Outfit after the end of Prohibition, Nitti turned the Outfit's attention to the
labor unions and, even more, Hollywood. But in 1943, Nitti and many top members
of the Chicago Outfit were indicted for extorting money from some of the
largest movie studios in Hollywood, including MGM, Paramount, and 20th Century
Fox, and they faced stiff sentences if convicted. Because of his
claustrophobia, enhanced during his first prison term, Nitti feared the idea of
a long confinement. So, faced with life in prison or perhaps murder by fellow
Outfit members to keep him quiet, Nitti shot himself in the head on March 19,
1943, in a train yard, near his home in Riverside, Illinois.

Michael Thomas Barry is the author of numerous books that
include the award winning, Murder and
Mayhem 52 Crimes that Shocked Early California, 1849-1949(2012, Schiffer Publishing). The
WINNER of the 2012 International Book Awards and a FINALIST in the 2012 Indie
Excellence Book Awards for True Crime. The book can be purchased at Amazon
through the following link: